Out $300 over 10 Minutes
Last month I booked a two-night stay (beginning the same night) for a campsite on Hipcamp. I ended up having to cancel 10 minutes later due to a conflict. The host had a flexible cancellation policy so I believed I would be refunded the $284.57 I spent. However, my refund never came. After nearly a month of back and forth between Hipcamp support (which does not provide a telephone number for customer support, only email), I was told that since I did not cancel "at least 24 hours before check-in" that I would not be reimbursed, per the host's cancellation policy. I understand this, but how does this apply to same-day bookings? It was literally impossible to follow that policy when my check-in time was only a few hours later that same day. It is extremely frustrating to lose nearly $300 for absolutely no reason, when Hipcamp could absolutely refund me out of good faith. As said earlier, I canceled TEN MINUTES after booking. It's disheartening and disappointing, not to mention I feel completely defeated over the entire situation. This is a multi-million dollar company which was complete power to make this right, yet they refuse to. Will not be booking with Hipcamp again, and will absolutely be telling everyone I know not to as well. Be better, Hipcamp.